Deep Fried Kudzu

December 20, 2004December 23, 2019

Williams Brothers and A Little Vegas

One of my favorite stores is Williams Brothers is Philadelphia.

The store is part groceries, part feed and seed, and part shoe store. The last time we went to Philadelphia – this last summer – we went to Williams Brothers on our way home. It was the month of the Neshoba County Fair – also known as Mississippi’s Giant House Party (I **so** desperately want us to have one of the cabins there!!). We had gone to a very nice conference at one of the casinos there, but the casinos themselves – both the Golden Moon (the newer one) and the Silver Star – not so wild about those.

About four years ago Av and I went to Las Vegas as part of a convention I had to attend and we stayed at Mandalay Bay, which was very nice. At the time, it had the largest bathroom of any hotel we had stayed at (::especiallyinParis::). Oh, and their spa……one of our friends bought me a ‘Mandalay Day’ and it was so nice……massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, etc etc etc. They also have a Robert Cromeans salon there which was great.

We spent some time at some of the other casinos, and especially since we were there on a convention with some other friends, we had a great time taking in a lot of the very nice restaurants on the strip as well as in the ‘real’/older part of Las Vegas. Very quickly: we did NOT have supper at Aureole, but this is the Charlie Parker restaurant with the 4-story wine tower. We did, however, we did get a kick out of seeing them retrieve bottles of wine via harnesses, from the large window inside the hotel. We did have supper at: Rum Jungle (wow!!), Shanghai Lily (really wow!!), Trattoria Del Lupo (this is a quicky Wolfgang Puck place – not so good), and thankfully, Venetian Italian Restaurant on W Sahara Ave (not affiliated with The Venetian Hotel – this restaurant was in ‘old’ Las Vegas) which is no longer open but was a **great** experience.

If we were interested in staying elsewhere, we love ‘American Casino’ on Discovery Channel and may want to go have supper and spend some time at Green Valley Ranch Resort. I am really looking forward to our next trip!

December 19, 2004August 8, 2017

Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise

Boll Weevil Monument, Enterprise, Alabama

The Boll Weevil Monument (intersection of College St. and Main St. right downtown) in Enterprise

The boll weevil monument (erected in 1919) is something almost everyone in Alabama has heard of. The boll weevil destroyed the cotton crop in and around the Wiregrass around the 1910-1915 period and made people realize there was more that they could farm than just cotton……so some of them decided to plant other crops (peanut farming is huge down here) and some others just left farming for good. To thank the boll weevil for making people realize there was more out there than just cotton, the people there erected this monument. At the bottom is a plaque that reads: “In profound appreciation to the Boll Weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity.”

Even though this is the only monument of its kind (to a pest), the work of Dr. George Washington Carver was very important as he had done all sorts of research on other plants – namely the peanut – which was what so many of the farmers switched over to.

November 18, 2004September 2, 2022

Alluvian Hotel, Greenwood

Alluvian Hotel Shower, Greenwood, Mississippi

Room: The Alluvian Hotel in Greenwood, MS is one of my favorite hotels. First of all, the hotel is just beautiful. The rooms include fresh flowers, coffee-table books about the area, a super-comfortable bed, chaise lounge (ah….), two additional club chairs, and more! The Alluvian is actually here because of the Viking Range Corporation. The gentleman who owns Viking, Fred Carl, decided to keep and grow his company here in Greenwood, and the hotel was built to serve the business people who need a nicer hotel to stay in when coming to this part of the Delta.

Food: The hotel serves a breakfast on the fourth floor, and you can dine either inside or out on the balcony. It is really good, and the fireplace in the dining area is tiled in these great (must be Ann Sacks) green glossy rectangular tiles. Giardina’s is right next door to the hotel (you can see more about Giardina’s to the right under “Favorite Restaurants” on the right-hand side of this page). Make a reservation there before or right when you get to the hotel, and be sure to tell them you want a table in the curtained section.

Spa: The spa is supposed to open in early 2005. Yay!!

Extra: Right across the street is Dancing Rabbit bookstore (update: now closed) and at the end of the block is one of my favorite shops, the Mississippi Gift Company.

Our experience is this: If there is anyway, anyhow you can stay at the Alluvian, do it. Greenwood is a *great* town. Have lunch at the Crystal Grill and don’t forget pie. Have supper at either Giardina’s or Lusco’s. Go shopping downtown. Love Greenwood!

November 1, 2004August 8, 2017

Beau Rivage, Biloxi

Beau Rivage Hotel Room, Biloxi, Mississippi

Our Room at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS

Room: This is our room at the Beau Rivage Hotel (and casino) in Biloxi, Mississippi. Some people *really* like this hotel – we’ve stayed here four or five times.

Lobby: The lobby here IS something to see; there is a mosaic in the floor of the lobby that is amazing, and the magnolias that exist inside the hotel were bought from local landowners. This is an odd thing to say, but the public bathrooms there are much nicer (with really pretty sinks) than other casinos on the strip.

Service: All of our experiences with the staff at the BR have been nice.

Food: Not really buffet people, but it’s just what one does here for whatever reason. It was fine.

Spa: Neither of us have tried the spa there. Yet.

Extra: Nice shops.

Our experience is this: if we don’t mind driving an extra 30 miles or so, we will stay at the Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, which is almost always much less expensive *and* nicer (plus a few times they have upgraded us to a suite).

A Few Words About Local Area Restaurants: We’ve been to Jazzeppi’s (228.374.9660) in the past – it’s an Italian restaurant that’s pretty good. Some people swear by Mary Mahoney’s Old French House Restaurant (228.374.0163) but we haven’t been there yet – it is supposed to be among the nicest restaurants along the coast.